Table of contents for August 2016 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated

SO MUCH ON my mind and so little space. Here are a few rapid-fire observations from one of the few people on earth who, regrettably, did not make it to Texas for WrestleMania weekend. • In next year’s “PWI Poll,” it would be interesting to ask those who traveled to the Dallas area how many people were there solely for WrestleMania and how many were there for the non-WWE companies: Ring of Honor, Queens of Combat, Kaiju Big Battel, CZW, SHIMMER, NWA, WrestleCon, and the Jim Ross and Jim Cornette one-man shows. When WWE issues its press release bragging about how much business the company brought to the region, are the events piggybacking theirs even counted? • As for WrestleMania itself, I’ve read all the reviews and listened to our…

REIGN IN THE CRITICISM I’m sensitive to the idea of overcriticism in our industry and I think we shouldn’t be too quick to judge Roman Reigns’ potential. And that’s the key word here: potential. WWE has mistakenly anointed a World champion based on potential, and not actual accomplishments that make him worthy at this moment. This might be the right time for Seth Rollins or Dean Ambrose, but maybe not Reigns. FRAGILE AS CHYNA I consider Joanie Laurer’s 2001 autobiography, If They Only Knew, to be one of the most revealing books ever put out by WWE. Plagued by self-doubt, Joanie came across as someone who took criticism to heart. Combine that with a difficult relationship with her parents and a public breakup with Triple-H and it’s easier to understand…

THE WWE HALL of Fame gained some much-needed credibility when Lou Thesz—arguably the greatest professional wrestler of all-time— was posthumously inducted into its newly established “legacy wing” on the eve of WrestleMania 32. Although Thesz should have been in the Hall of Fame long before now, it seemed an appropriate time for the induction, considering Thesz would have been 100 years old on April 24, 2016. Thesz often voiced unflattering opinions regarding the McMahon family, dating back to the early-1960s when he accused Vincent J. McMahon and Toots Mondt of dishonest dealings, leading directly to the formation of the WWWF. Despite that, WWE inducted Thesz to further legitimize its Hall of Fame. It was the right thing to do, just as reaching out to induct Bret Hart, Verne Gagne, and…

60-DAY HIGH: 18.93 on March 17 60-DAY LOW: 14.20 on February 11 52-WEEK HIGH: 23.63 on August 3, 2015 52-WEEK LOW: 13.15 on May 22, 2015 After several weeks of hype, there was no surprise that WWE stock was up by three percent on the Friday before WrestleMania Sunday. Yet even Wall Street investors are becoming somewhat savvy to the wrestling business, as many understood that a weaker match lineup and the loss of key talent due to injuries (John Cena and Seth Rollins among them) could adversely affect the overall success of the event. As it turned out, WrestleMania 32 was received better than expected by the fans, but mixed numbers regarding the WWE Network drove down the stock price again. The slight loss in paid domestic subscribers, compared…

ZACK SABRE JR. of the United Kingdom upended Germany’s Axel Dieter Jr. to win the 11th annual Westside Xtreme Wrestling 16 Carat Gold Tournament, which is rapidly becoming one of the most prestigious and anticipated international events of the year. The 16-man tournament took place March 11-13 in Oberhausen, Germany, featuring an international cavalcade of the top unsigned stars in wrestling. Sabre, who is gaining a reputation as one of the top technicians in wrestling today (he came in second place in the Best Technical Wrestler category in the PWI Poll) defeated Dieter in 12:35 when Dieter submitted after taking multiple shots to the head. Sabre also scored wins over Big Daddy Walter (Germany), Will Ospreay (England), and Sami Callihan (U.S), who was the 2011 tournament winner. Dieter advanced to…

TOP 10 1 ROMAN REIGNS 265, Pensacola, FL (1) WWE World heavyweight champion 2 TRIPLE-H 255, Boston, MA (–) No. 1 contender WWE World title 3 JAY LETHAL 225, Elizabeth, NJ (3) ROH heavyweight champion 4 BROCK LESNAR 295, Minneapolis, MN (–) No. 2 contender WWE World title 5 DREW GALLOWAY 247, Ayr, Scotland (–) TNA heavyweight champion 6 TETSUYA NAITO (–) 225, Tokyo, Japan (2) IWGP heavyweight champion 7 CHRIS JERICHO 227, Winnipeg, MB (–) No. 3 contender WWE World title 8 AJ STYLES 218, Gainesville, GA (–) No. 4 contender WWE World title 9 KALISTO 170, Mexico City, Mexico (7) WWE U.S. champion 10 FINN BALOR 190, Bray, Ireland (9) NXT heavyweight champion TAG TEAMS 1 BIG E & KOFI KINGSTON & XAVIER WOODS Combined weight: 702 pounds…

CHAMPION OF THE WORLD AROUND A CENTURY ago, professional wrestling was decidedly different from the bombastic, over-the-top spectacle of today. Matches were exhibitions of strength and skill that unfolded in the ring as opposed to developing through scripted promos and behind-the-scenes vignettes. In his first novel, Champion Of The World, author Chad Dundas hearkens back to this bygone era, offering a fictionalized account of how changing times and evolving tastes led to irrevocable changes in the world of professional wrestling. Champion Of The World is told mostly from the perspective of protagonist Pepper Van Dean, a veteran of the squared circle who is ostensibly the last of the sport’s true believers. Van Dean places principles and integrity ahead of an easy buck, but his strict adherence to simple ideals often…

LONG BEFORE PRO wrestlers were using their speaking skills to win over supporters, American presidents were doing the same. What was the Gettysburg Address but a promo geared at winning over haters? Is this presidential quotethemed “Quick Count” just a cheap attempt to tie into this year’s presidential election? Well, that depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. “I CANNOT TELL A LIE” So how many people attended WrestleMania 32? We may never know an exact number, but if The Wrestling Observer is to be believed, it was not 101,763—the attendance figure announced by WWE. According to Observer editor Dave Meltzer, who spoke to sources with AT&T Stadium, the actual number was closer to 97,000. That’s still good enough to break the WWE’s all-time attendance record, which…

IN WRESTLING, THERE are pushes, and then there are monster pushes. And then there’s Drew Galloway’sWWE push. Just three weeks after setting foot in the United States for the very first time, the 22-year-old Scotsman found himself on WWE television, as Drew McIntyre, and on the road working with some of the most experienced veterans in the sport. At the age of 24, he was publicly anointed “The Chosen One” by none other than Vince McMahon himself. It was a case of art imitating life, as backstage McMahon and other key decision-makers truly were impressed by Galloway’s size, look, and natural aptitude. But Galloway’s high-pressure position ultimately resulted in a high fall from grace. By 2012, he had been relegated to a lower-card comedy act. Then, in 2014, he was…

RAW [USA] --VIEWERS IN MILLIONS February 15: 3.48 February 22: 3.88 February 29: 3.72 March 7: 3.55 March 14: 3.46 March 21: 3.40 March 28: 3.77 April 4: 4.09 Analysis: Raw finally scored above the four-million-viewer threshold on the day following WrestleMania 32; fortunately the show remained above the three-million mark throughout WrestleMania season. The Royal Rumble might have officially kicked off the Road to WrestleMania, but it didn’t begin in earnest until Shane McMahon made his shocking return to Raw on February 22, the night after Fastlane. A respectable 3.88 million viewers tuned in to Raw that night. And in what had to be a blow to The Undertaker’s ego, his appearance the following week—in response to Shane’s return—drew a slightly lower 3.72 million. The hope is that some…

We encourage promoters and readers to e-mail results to: PWIResults@yahoo.com Please try to utilize the exact format you see in the “Arena Reports.” Also, please distinguish between handicap matches and three- or fourway matches. And, when reporting the result of a handicap match, indicate the number of competitors and who was the last man eliminated. Finally, please note pinfall finishes. Following these guidelines will help us greatly and make it more likely that your report will be used. SPOTLIGHT CARD OF THE MONTH TEXAS DALLAS—NXT at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center: Manny Andrade pinned Christopher Girard … Apollo Crews pinned Elias Samson … Chad Gable & Jason Jordan beat tag team champions Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson for title title … Austin Aries pinned Baron Corbin … Shinsuke Nakamura…

ROMAN REIGNS WALKED out of WrestleMania 32 with the WWE World heavyweight belt draped over his shoulder—after a year of false starts, two other aborted WWE title reigns, and a mixed reaction from the WWE Universe. It’s as if Vince McMahon has pushed the reset button and simply picked up where his grand plan left off one year ago. Reigns is the WWE World champion, whether you like it or not. It doesn’t help that Reigns has adopted a mild blame-the-fans mentality regarding his harsh reception at many events. “Typically if you hear the boos, it generally is grown men my age and I’m not really in this business for the grown men,” he told the Orlando Sentinel. “I’m in this business for the families … If you’re a 30-yearold…

OVER THE PAST eight years, Cherry Bomb and Courtney Rush have wrestled each other close to 100 times. Both women cut their teeth on the Ontario independent circuit at a time when there were few female wrestlers on the scene. It was only natural for a rivalry to develop. On August 23, 2015, that rivalry escalated to a personal vendetta, one that transformed both women and changed the course of both of their careers. On that date, Rush and partner Vanessa Kraven defeated Cherry Bomb and Kimber Lee in a tag match in Toronto for SMASH Wrestling. But after the match, Kimber-Bomb attacked their opponents. In an act of rage and jealousy, Cherry Bomb produced a pair of scissors and cut Rush’s hair, intending to humiliate the Winnipeg native. Rush…